TIL not to leave my one and only house plant on the kitchen counter very long after I water it. One of the cats nibbled on a leaf and promptly threw up on the counter. Plant is now back on its hangar, far out of reach.

TIL that one of the cats we adopted last week is a very accomplished food thief. My son didn't even notice that the cat was licking one of the pepperoni pieces on his pizza, though he did see her pinch it from his plate.

Ooh, that drives me nuts. A lot of kids walk down our road during school term time as there are 5 schools within walking distance of our house, and if I had a pound for every wrapper we and our neighbours have had thrown in our front gardens we could hire a private security service.

Thanks again everyone for the kind words! And sorry to hijack this thread a bit with medical updates, but it seems an appropriate place to share and it's not really worth starting up a whole thread on its own.
Today I learned several things: mammograms suck but not as badly as I'd expected. Full on biopsies of one of the most sensitive areas of the body that leave half one's chest black and blue suck just as bad as you'd expect (though at least I got a local for this one). And lastly, the syndrome my surgeon think I have is not at all dangerous in any way, and I most likely won't even have to have it operated on. What it is, though, is extremely rare. My surgeon, a breast specialist at Beth Israel Cancer Center, said that in 30 years of practice I am only the third patient he's seen with it.

Happy to hear the pretty positive update, tsq...mammograms seem to have gotten progressively easier on the woman involved in recent years if some stories and claims by breast care doctors are correct. Glad you're probably going to avoid any kind of surgery!

Thanks again everyone for the kind words! And sorry to hijack this thread a bit with medical updates, but it seems an appropriate place to share and it's not really worth starting up a whole thread on its own.
Today I learned several things: mammograms suck but not as badly as I'd expected.<snip>

Click to expand...

No, they really aren't. Granted, it's not fun having your boob in a vice, like they think you have the secret rocket-formula or something....but it's just a moment of discomfort and then it's over. No biggie. I have to go get my annual mammogram soon; at worst, I'll just be a bit sore afterwards.

<snip>the syndrome my surgeon think I have is not at all dangerous in any way, and I most likely won't even have to have it operated on. What it is, though, is extremely rare. My surgeon, a breast specialist at Beth Israel Cancer Center, said that in 30 years of practice I am only the third patient he's seen with it.

^
Yeah, the first mammos weren't bad at all. Though the second set, which was done after the biopsies, were really painful -- but that's just because of the procedure that had just been done. And yeah, I feel very special. By special, I mean annoyed.

Thanks guys! Oh, and I'm officially a bionic woman, as I now have a chip in my boob! The fun-ness of that about makes up for the pain...maybe...the numb has been wearing off...

[rant] TIL that even at one of the best hospitals in the country/world, some medical professionals are idiots. This PA was going over my medical history....

First he tried to tell me that "nobody" uses the particular anesthesia that I was given for my surgery last year. He didn't look very happy when I -- you know, just an ignorant patient -- explained exactly why they use it for neurosurgery.

Then he asked whether they'd had to give me any blood during the surgery. I said yes, 5 1/2 units, and he gave me that skeptical look again. I said, "Yeah, that's a lot of blood for this little body, isn't it?", to make sure he knew that I knew precisely what I was talking about. No response.

^ TIL that I am not alone in wishing that some medical professionals had better people skills and the ability to realize that patients really do have an understanding of what procedures they have experienced...

TIL that our society has gradually over a long span of time made sugar so pervasive in our foods that we've become addicted to it. And this is fueling all kinds of problems, like increased diabetes and even cancer (sugar helps fuel tumor growth). Also, sugar substitutes are generally not good for us as well. The real solution? Wean yourself off of sugar. Eat less!